Lou burt



(No Model.) L. BURT.

JEWELRY TRAY.

N0. 408,576. Patented Aug. 6, 1889.

WITJVESSES IJVVEWTOE N ETERS. Phowumn rz hen Walhinglon. 0.0

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOU BURT, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE BURT & HURLBUT COMPANY,OF SAME PLACE.

J EWELRY-TRAY.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,576, dated August6, 1889.

' Application filed May 1, 1889. Serial No. 309,256. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOU BURT, a citizen of the United States, residingat Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented 5 acertain new and useful Improvement in Jewelry-Trays; and I declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and.

to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a jewelry-tray embodying myinvention. Fig.

. 2 is a perspective view of the same. Fig. 3 is a variation in whichthe relative posit-ions of the end slots and intermediate slots arechanged with respect to the adjacent side of the tray. Fig. at isanother variation in which the slots from the end lap past each otherand the intermediate slot is dispensed with. Fig. 5 is another form inwhich the slots are located near the middle of the tray. Fig. 6 presentsanother form with the slots near the middle. Fig. '7 presents amodification in which the slots are multiplied. Fig. 8 is a sectionalview lengthwise of the grain of the bottom.

Heretofore in making such trays it has been customary to take a board ofsufficient size for the bottom of the tray, and to engage it at itsedges with the upright sides of the tray, which sides are suitablyjoined at their ex: tremities. Difficulty, however, has arisen by theshrinkage of the tray-bottom, which, drawing upon the upright sides,causes the whole tray to become warped, or should the upright sidesshrink more than the bottom a similar warping occurs. It is the purposeof my invention to so construct the tray as to prevent warping by theshrinkage of the bottom or sides. To this end, either before orafter thetray has been framed together, I slot the traybottom by saw-kerfs orotherwise extending in the direction of the grain and lapping past eachother. A

In the drawings, A may represent the frame or upright. sides; B, thebottom of the tray. In the instance shown the edges of the bottom arerabbeted into the sides at b and glued in place.

The slots are shown at b N. I11 Fig. 1 there are slots 1) projecting inthe direction of the grain from the edges a short distance toward themiddle. A slot b is formed close to the latter and with its endsextending so as to lap past the extremities of the slots 1), the slotsZ) being adjacent to the parallel edge of the tray. In Fig. 3 thearrangement is similar, except the slotb is adjacent to this par- ()0allel edge of the tray. In Fig. 4 there is no slot 19 but the slots 1)are carried in so that their ends lap past each other. In Fig. 5 theslot Z2 is located near the middle, and there are two slots 1) at eachend of the slot W. In Fig. 6 there are but two slots b lapping past eachother, but located centrally between the sides, and in Fig. 7 there is amultiplicity of slots.

In a construction such as I have described any shrinkage of the traybottom or frame will easily adjust itself without strain, the boardspringing along the overlapping portions 19 so as to permit the adjacentparts of the tray to spring toward each other, thus partially closingthe said slots, or to spring apart, thus slightly opening the saidslots.

In either case the tray is held intact without warping.

The slots extending from edge to edge en- So able me to handle thetray-bottom as a single piece, which is of great advantage in making thetray and framing the parts together, and the continuity of the bottomboard at the points 19 holds the parts against warping or curling upwardor downward at the edges of the slots.

A tray of this character, finished with plush in the usual way, makes avery desirable article, which will never change its form by warping or abowing either in or out of the sides.

Of course I do not limit myself to the use of this tray as a jewelry-tray, since it is equally applicable for use in show-cases of allkinds, 5 and also by traveling men in their sampletrunks, and I would beunderstood as contemplating all analogous uses of this kind.

WVhat I claim is 1. A jewelry-tray consisting of side pieces too and abottom board, the said bottom board slotted in the direction of thegrain by slots In testimony whereof I sign thisspeci fication in thepresence of two witnesses.

LOU BURT.

Witnesses:

W. H. CHAMBERLIN, L. A. DOELTZ.

